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Unformatted text preview: 1 Mr. Scherer English 102 27 February 2008 A Prcis of John Updike's "A & P" Sammy, a nineteen-year-old cashier at a local A & P north of Boston, is distracted when three girls dressed in bathing suits walk into the store. He is so distracted that he rings a customer's item twice, upsetting her. After he calms the angry customer and she leaves, he begins to observe the three girls closely. Sammy is particularly attracted to the leader of the girls, who he calls Queenie. As the girls walk in the opposite direction of the regular shoppers, they stare at the girls because the store is located five miles from the nearest beach. The girls stop at the meat counter, where they ask the butcher a question. As they walk away, he ogles them, causing Sammy to feel sorry for them. The girls eventually go to Sammy's register, where Queenie sets down an item. To Sammy's delight she pulls her money out of her bikini top. Lengel, the store manager, enters, sees the girls, and informs them of store policy. The other customers observe this situation, which embarrasses the girls. Lengel repeats store policy as Queenie defends herself and orders Sammy to ring out the girls. As the girls, quickly leave, Sammy tells Lengel that he quits, hoping the girls will hear him as they leave the store. Lengel questions Sammy's decision and informs him to think of how his parents will feel about his decision, but Sammy tells him that he didn't have to embarrass the girls and rationalizes he must stick to his leave. 2 Outside, he does not see the girls anywhere. The three girls did not even notice the stance he took. As he looks back, Lengel took his place at the checkout. Sammy, now at an emotional loss, ponders how hard the world will be toward him from this point forward. ...
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